Strange Kingdoms

The Missus and me concluded our Stranger Things viewing last night with the final two hour extravaganza on Netflix, which I read had crashed their servers in its first airing. 

What to say? Well, it's been a long time coming and this final series is years after the first seasons when the kids were, well, kids. Personally I think the gaps been too long but hell, I'm 65 and I'm not the proper audience. My daughter, 25 years younger, is nearer the mark but I reckon young teens are the true fans. I understand that Netflix have their own cinemas in the US and the ST finale was shown there. Folks got dressed up at home and used ST plates and cups for party food to watch the ending together. To be sure it's a phenomenon and Netflix will be wondering what on earth or the Upside Down to do next!

In short, in spite of it being a big drawn-out mess, we enjoyed it. Questions were answered, the day was saved and hope sprang eternal. The best bits for me were glimpses, albeit acted, of American teens in the 80's, rather like they were in ET and those other Spielberg flicks, in this case playing Dungeons and Dragons as a group of friends in a big habitable basement, an American world unknown to me but very alluring and reminiscent of the passion I and no doubt we all felt as youths for the glorious crazes of our day. Mine was monsters and space in the late Sixties and Seventies. I was too old for D&D by the Eighties, but I get the excitement around it and the nostalgia for that simpler decade of board game geeking together in basements before the yet-to-arrive isolation of social media.

Will Netflix make Stranger Things II I wonder? 

Last thing last night I caught Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. Being a big DC fan I'll always give their flicks a spin. Having said that Aquaman films are my least favourite simply because it's all underwater and for me, just not as exciting as on land. Lost Kingdom was no different and all the bubbling oceanic scrapping left me a bit cold and wet, besides which, I'm not too keen on the character Black Manta. It's the huge pill-shaped helmet; for me it looks a bit daft. I enjoyed meeting Aquaman's estranged brother, played by the guy who played the Owl in the brilliant Watchmen I think.

I hate to admit it tho, I turned Lost Kingdom off and it's unlikely I'll go back to it! 

Bring back the Justice League I say! 

Did you see either of these readers? 

This Year's Ghost

 Whilst overnighting in Shipley Travelodge on Christmas Eve night we caught this year's BBC Ghost Story for Christmas, The Room in the Tower.

Horror connoisseur Mark Gatiss, who attended the former Bretton College up the road in Wakefield, has for years done a stirling job keeping this treasured old BBC staple alive and despite me falling asleep half way through on account of manifold festive drinks earlier, I saw enough of The Room in the Tower to appreciate the effort put in and thought the final moment truly horrific!

With the loss of the brilliant series Inside No.9 starring fellow Brettonians Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton, there's only really Gatiss's Ghost Stories flying the flag for new BBC horror. It's slim pickins these days, so I'll have to reacquaint myself with those old BBC Christmas spirits from previous years, as I'm sure there's an omnibus on the TV one night this Christmas. If not, I've got them all on DVD.

In the meantime, there's this fabulous BFI post about the locations of the original BBC Ghost Stories, mostly based on the tales of the superb M.R. James:

Ghost Stories for Christmas: how TV’s most haunting locations look today | BFI https://share.google/0BGTnezq1EgOKBsRD

So mesmerizing were and are the BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas that I've done the very same thing myself and visited at least one location in the past and blogged about it at the time: 

MOONBASE CENTRAL: A MORNING FOR THE CURIOUS https://share.google/9MSGSbsLjWhFkvBTi

Do you like these BBC TV films readers?

I truly hope Mark Gatiss and company keep this old thing alive and kicking.

For now though, newness will have its wicked way, as we settle down with a plate of Christmas leftovers and appreciate the latest offering from the global American phenomenon that is Stranger Things.

Having really enjoyed all the Stranger Things series a few years back, the Missus and me were excited about the new series shown this November after the shows long hiatus.

Despite having all the very familiar elements - Eleven, the Upside Down etc - we came away having watched those four latest episodes feeling underwhelmed.

It seemed a bit of a mess to us. 

Still, there's this Christmas's installment so maybe all will be redeemed when the Demigorgon visits again!

The Electric State

There's been a few standout streamed TV Sci-Fi moments over the last decade: Stranger Things, Fall Out, The Boys, The Creator and now, the Electric State.

Shown this month on Netflix, I really enjoyed this film. It reminded me of AI a lot: sad, wistful, hopeful and yearning: the girl's (11 from Stranger Things) search for the lost brother echoed David's desperate quest to find the Blue Fairy and ultimately his mother.

Incredibly expensive and somewhat panned over it's opening week, Electric State is that insightful vision of robot futurism that comes along every now and then, which shows humanity at it's worst and best through the eyes of machines.

I loved it.

No spoilers, have you seen it?

BRITE THINGS

Wow, Lite Brite has evolved since I had it as a lad in the Sixties!

Here's the Stranger Things edition. How cool is that! I don't think there were TV-related Lite Brite sets back in the day. Imagine, a Thunderbirds Lite Brite set!

O T H E R W I S E

First of all I apologise if I haven't got back to readers' comments and emails over the last two or three weeks. 

A combination of house improvements, the hot UK weather and the toad work have made Woodsy a dull boy. I have been collapsing into an armchair at night desperately trying to stay awake to watch Stranger Things with the Missus.

Thankfully things have settled down now at Moonbase and carpets are being toe-tested, books restacked and rooms generally rekindled after 6 weeks turmoil. Best of all the hundreds of subsidence cracks have been dealt with and gone.

Here's one bedroom halfway and after, fresh and uncluttered. But will it stay like that!

The hallway halfway and after, full of light and little else. But for how long!

The chest of drawers in the hall still houses my small stash of Ebayable toys for raising further Project SWORD toy funds.

Now the telly room is done as well, where the comfy sofa is, my own normal Moonbase blogging service will resume soon. 

The one outstanding improvement is a full repair of the broken loft ladder. Its more or less done but until its fettled fully I can't access my toys!

In the meantime a couple of things have been happening on the Project SWORD front and I will bring you news of two vehicle rarities this summer. Once items have landed safely here in the UK and in the far North and photos have been taken I will update you.

Meanwhile frogs have taken residence in the pond, mosquitoes are out to get me and a Lancaster Bomber flew over the house momentarily taking us back to 1942 in a moment straight out of the Philadelphia Experiment!

As said me and the Missus have been Stranger Thinging and it has to be said we have binged. A Stranger Binge no less, ha ha. Tonight we sit down to Series 4! Have you been watching the monstrous town of Hawkins?

What things are happening in your neck of the woods readers? You home improving? You busy working? Busy holidaying? Busy collecting and creating?

Let us know.

DUNGEONS, DRAGONS AND STRANGER THINGS

I enjoyed watching this old TV ad above for TSR's Dungeon's and Dragons from 1983. I never got into this whole thing unfortunately as I reckon I would have enjoyed the social fantasy vibe.

Were you a TSR fan?

Did you like the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon or the film with Jeremy Irons?

Watching the TV ad reminded me of the now famous opening of Netflix's own homage to TSR Eighties childhoods, Stranger Things. Here the young heroes enjoy a frenetic game of dungeons and dragons that either causes or reflects what happens next with the Demogorgon.

Have you seen Stranger Things? All episodes?

Was the Demogorgon a real TSR figure?

E V E N S T R A N G E R T H I N G S

After taxing days at work and the nights darkening I'm enjoying re-watching the Netflix TV series Stranger Things late on. 

Now famous, Stranger Things is like an X-Files for modern kids. The content isn't anything like it but what is similar is the pull the series has. Its like a geek magnet.

When I was younger me and the Missus would stay in with our young daughter to watch the X-Files and episodes like Tooms and Gargoyles have stayed with us ever since.

I imagine it will be the same for Stranger Thingers; some series and episodes will be favourites, fans will argue the merits of the first few shows and others the thrill of the later installments. Twas ever thus. We did the same in the Sixties and Seventies didn't we.

For those of you who haven't delved into Stranger Things then try to imagine all those cool Eighties films like ET, Close Encounters, Batteries Not Included and the Goonies balled up into one great pop-tart munching mass, chuck in some High School kids on BMX's, a Dungeons and Dragons board game [Demogorgon!] and a blather of hellish monsters and you will be close to the look of Stranger Things.

Don't be fooled. Its not a teeny bopper series. Its for adults too without a doubt. In the same way that Speilberg's small-town monster flick Super 8 appealed to all, Stranger is now on Series 3 with series 4 already talked out.

Are you a Stranger Thing?

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL: It Wasn't!

Well, my free Netflix month has ended. I shall miss it but I'll live.

To close proceedings I watched something I had been looking forward to, Midnight Special and I hoped it would fit right into the Stranger Things vibe.

Essentially a film about a young boy and his connection to extraterrestrials, the tag line read something like 'Close Encounters of a New Kind'.

I was hugely disappointed with Midnight Special. It was a complete let down and having promised new encounters it delivered nothing but tedious stops on a pointless road trip filmed at night.

The only decent effect was used throughout the movie to keep it afloat, a Cyclops-like laser beam from the kid's eyes. 

Alas, light-up eyes were not enough to rescue it from oblivion. Annoyingly much of the action was filmed in the dark - presumably the 'midnight' in the title - but the 'special' never came.

I was glad when the kid was finally beamed up. 

Reminding me of Nic Cage's Knowing, Midnight Special was a missed opportunity to say something new and despite name-dropping Spielberg's masterpiece Close Encounters it offered no encounters of any kind whatsoever.

I may be being harsh. I doubt if it spawned any merchandise.

Just my opinion anyway. What did you think of Midnight Special?

I never Got to Play Dungeons and Dragons

Its another snow day for me. Been sent home from work as parts of West and South Yorkshire are gridlocked due to overnight snowfalls. Abandoned cars, skidding buses, complete chaos on any higher ground.

So I'm back home with Doods the Moonbase Mutt, who is very happy to see me I must say. We can go for walkies later and I can tackle taking two large parcels to the post office earlier than I thought I would.

Sadly one parcel contains PINO, who I recently featured in a photo-story and short vid. He is being posted to his new owner. After a decade's sleep in my loft, I hope he gets to grow up this time.

I shall also enjoy my final half day with Netflix. Having watched Stranger Things 2 and Deadpool this week I have gone for something completely different, Straight Outta Compton.

Not sure what to say about Deadpool. It was sort of a Ryan Reynolds show. I'm not keen on comedy and super heroes mixing together but that's just me. It's way down on my list when it comes to watching Super Hero movies a second time. What did you think?

Stranger Things 2 is the second series of the Netflix original. I enjoyed series 1 a lot and it reminded me of an expanded version of Spielberg's Super 8 movie. Series 2 is pretty much the same, delving deeper and deeper into the mysterious goings on in the small American town circa 1981.

For me the most successful parts of it were those showing the young American group of High School friends enjoying time together. This was especially so early on when they were in the basement of the house playing Dungeons and Dragons and discussing the fabulously named Demagorgon.

Sadly, the whole Dungeons and Dragons phenomenon passed me by in the late Seventies, when TSR's material first surfaced in the UK. Looking back I can't really explain it except to say that maybe I was just too old. I was 17 in 1977 and 20 by the close of the decade. I was just doing other things and not stranger things! Were you part of the D&D craze readers?

I certainly knew about Dungeons and Dragons as I remember buying a really early copy of White Dwarf, one of the first few with the monochrome covers before the mag went glossy. 

I had that mag for years alongside mags from my other great passions at the time, hippydom and heavy rock. I still have some of my old hippy mags like Undercurrents but that old White Dwarf has wandered. Wish I still had it.

I even ordered some small metal orcs by post in the late Seventies. I may still have them somewhere. Whether these were Dungeons and Dragons I don't know. Orcs would have interested me because of their connection to Lord of the Rings, which I was secretly reading in my top drawer whilst at work on my first paid job as an insurance clerk!

I adored Lord of the Rings and my flat was full of posters and woodblocks based on it around 1978. I reckon I still have the colour map poster of Middle Earth but the Gandalf woodblock has left for the Grey Havens years ago. 

Besides LOTR I also 'collected' any books similar to it like The Worm Orobouros, Dragonworld and Dragon Song by Anne McAffrey. I'm pleased to say I still have these books.

I wonder if the inventors of Dungeons and Dragons were influenced by Lord of the Rings? I do love the illustrations of those early TSR books and pamphlets. Its a quaint shakey style of drawing and colouring all of its own, rather like Tolkein's drawings in Letters to Father Christmas.

Stranger Things is a wonderful homage to that entire Dungeons and Dragons phenomenon and a thumbs-up to geekyness everywhere!

Is the game still popular and is old TSR merchandise collectable?

Stranger Things 2 Advice Needed

As the sand runs out on my Netflix freebie, I've chosen Stranger Things series 2 to watch.

I enjoyed series 1 a couple of years ago so I thought I'd carry on. For me its like all those ace Eighties kids films like ET and IT rolled into one, a sort of super stretched Super 8.

I've watched the first 3 episodes so far. I haven't got enough time to watch all the rest of series 2 before Wednesday.

Are there any crucial episodes I should see readers?